don lemon tonight live from ukraine starts right now. don, there is a lot going on where you are. looking forward to your show . it certainly it -- i noer you're going to have all the late breaking developments coming up. one other thing, don -- let me ask you a quick question, before i let you go, because a lot of us are watching. we're all worried not just about you but all of our fellow journal ivrts, photo journalists where you are. give us a little sense of how

you are all handling this. we are experiencing -- broadcast. yeah, we're having master issues. later. this is don lemon tonight. thank you so much for joining us here. we are in lviv ukraine, western ukraine. our breaking news, new video tonight, putin's war on this country. i have to warn you - -

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all right. this is -- we had a bit of some -- we had some technical issues at the --

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okay. mellow, everyone. sorry we are having some transmission issues. obviously we are in a war zone. so there is a bit of a problem. hopefully we are on the air now. sorry with that. wolf was trying to talk to me. but apparently you couldn't see

or hear me. hopefully can you now. we're okay by the way, for all those asking. everything is fine here. just a transmission issue. this is don lemm 199western ukraine. thank you for joining us. i'm in lviv. breaking news new video shows the horror of vladimir putin's war on this country. before i show it to you i have to warn you it is difficult to watch. in the kyiv region bodies seen in the street and village of bucka after five guys of intense fire fight. unclear from the video whether the bodies are civilian or military. ukraine said it recaptured the town about 15 miles from the capital. and moscow's assault faltering. that ukraine attack on russia was on russia soil, who did it volodymyr zelenskyy saying this tonight. >> i do not discuss any of my orders as commander in chief. the leader of this state, you need to understand, that on that

territory that you mentioned, you have to know, today we're placing their shooting systems and firing those missiles themselves. >> so ukraine won't confirm or deny whether it was behind that fiery attack today on a fuel depot inside russia. the attack in belgrade, a highly militarized russian is he near the border. russia claims it was caused by an air strike from ukrainian helicopters, a claim cnn is unable to verify at this time. ukraine's foreign minister telling cnn's christiane amanpour pour this. >> i saw the video. but the quality is insufficient for me to identify whether it was ukrainian helicopters or not. i'm ukrainian. i have trust in the people of

ukraine and in our armed forces. and of course as foreign minister in our diplomacy. this is a war. they attacked us to destroy us. they reject our right to exist as a nation. so it means we will be fighting back by all means available to us, within existing law -- international laws of warfare, of course. because we are a civilized nation unlike them. >> now the kremlin is claiming that this strike could hurt talks between ukraine and russia. even though it was vladimir putin's unprovoked invasion of ukraine that started all of this in the first place. and we have new evidence tonight of russia's waning success in ukraine. satellite images from maxar technologies confirm russian forces have suddenly disappeared from antinov airport outside of key. this is the before. showing the protective earthen berms around military vehicles and artillery positions. this is the after. the vehicles are all gone. it's unclear where they went.

russia captured the air field on the first day of the war. that as officials say three missiles were launched from crimea hit the odessa region. there are reportedly casualty we don't know how many. meanwhile buses crowded with 700 residents of mariupol arriving in zaparisya tonight. more than 100,000 still trapped in mariupol. the red cross wasn't able to get in today. they are trying again tomorrow. i want to bring in now cnn fred pleitgen in kyiv. fred, hello. ukrainian officials aren't confirming or denying whether they hit the fuel depot in russian territory. you reported from belgarad what do you think. >> it's complete will i unclear whether or not the ukrainians are lind it. certainly that is what the russians say. in fact in a move remarkable, the russian defense ministry

said it was mi-24 helicopter that is game at 5:00 a.m. that came to hit the facility and managed to escape. again the ukrainians are not saying whether or not that's true. the video we see on social media seems to indicate that there were choppers that did hit that place. it would be very difficult for the ukrainians to actually pull that off. as you said i was down there on the ground for a long reporting from the region. belgarad in is one of the most fortified cities in russia. it's a military city. in addition you have a bunch of russian forces in between kharkiv and there pressing the offensive in kharkiv and they have a lot of anti-aircraft weapons there as well. would have been something difficult to pull off. but if the ukrainians managed to pull it off and do it it would be a big gut punch to the russians right in the heart of the military machine, don. >> and listen one of the worst hit cities besieged city of

mariupol, what is the latest there? more than 100,000 remain trapped there. is aid get going the city. >> it's not. that's one of the things officials in mariupol, ukraineening officials are saying as well, not only is very little to no aid actually coming into the city. they're also saying people want to help can't get into the city either. so it continues to be an absolutely dire situation. you know, the ukrainian officials who came out earlier today and said in total everywhere here, more than 6,000 people have been evacuated from zones that were deemed dangerous. so only very few actually came from mariupol. apparently it's still very difficult to enter the city which is pretty much impossible for any sort of aid. but also for people to get out as well. and you know the other thing is -- we've talked about this so much in the past -- is that some of the aid convoys that do get out of mariupol, you know they're shelled by the russians. and people have been injured. people have been killed. so certainly the situation there

remains very dangerous. there are still a lot of people trapped inside that city. as that city continues to get decimated, of course we know from reports on the ground that that shelling from russian positions into that besieged and encircled city that that's something that continues without pause, don. fredrick pleitgen in kyiv. thank you. the odessa region hit by three missiles from crimea. ed lavandera lived there. odessa has been bracing for war since the beginning of the evasion. now rockets hitting the region. are folks there worried more may come? >> yeah, that's the concern that still exists here. even though this is a city, don, that had essentially enjoyed several days of quiet. but it's an uneasy quiet. because everyone is waiting for what's coming next. they don't really believe that they're out of the clear in any

way. that's why they've been watching so closely what is happening in the north around kyiv. but now they're shifting their attention to figure out what's coming from the east of ukraine. and whether or not russian forces are going to redeploy after they get resupplied, and again make the push towards odessa. so far russian forces have been staaled out about halfway between here and mariupol. you know, the question is what's coming next. >> and, ed, you caught up with families, families displaced by are theway mo escaped odess aire. what are you hearing from them? >> well, you know, this has been one of the really tragic aspects of all of this. and getting to odessa for many families who have been trapped in that -- knows southern areas of ukraine into the southeast areas where they have been trapped in villages and in their homes, trying to escape through humanitarian routes that haven't

materialized or they only materialize for a short amount of time. and we came across a -- a shelter essentially that was handing out food and clothes to so many people who have been displaced to odessa, who chose to stay here. you know, and they just described the heart ache they've been through to get to this point. you can hear from one woman we talked to earlier today. >> when we came here, the volunteers told us to say what we need. but i'm ashamed. i've worked all my life and never asked anyone for anything. and now i have to ask. >> her little girl wipes away her mother's tears. >> mother, why are you crying, the girl asks? because they were shelling us a lot, olga tells her. >> oh, don, this is a family, a mother with her five children and her husband who had to walk

through a forest by their village just to escape the russians that were firing all around them. getting to odessa, even though a short distance, relatively speaking compared to the size of this country is really just an incredibly harrowing and treacherous journey for so many families, don. >> ed, appreciate the reporting. please be safe out there. thank you so much. i want to bring in military analyst major general james sprd marks. i have to tell you and everyone watching. we're okay we had a transmission issue at the top of the show. but, again everything is fine. we just couldn't -- trying to get to new york and from here. and things just went haywire but we're back now. thanks for joining us. let's talk about "the new york times" report petition. that the u.s. is working with allies to transfer soviet-made tanks to ukraine. how significant is this shift? what will this mean for the next phase of this war? whatever that is? >> well, it's a significant

additive to the ukrainian forces. these tanks coming in, the ukrainians have used this type of tank, this t-72 model, a russian-made tank, they used these before. they're competent. they know what they look like. they know how to engage them, how to maintain them. and they've really done some significant training over the course of a couple of decades where any really work extremely well in terms of combat maneuver and the synchronization of all the elements of combat. the joint force, as we call it, which means you have tanks. you have -- you work in a three dimension dimensional stakes. tanks, aircraft, attack helicopters, infrant fantly and logistics you work and synchronize that together. additional tanks at this point where they are russians -- you showed the imagery where the russian departed the airfield in the significant of kyiv that's a significant indicator. but they've departed that and now back in belarus or russia which again is no longer a

sanctuary if in fact this attack in belgarad was done by the ukrainians. the russians aren't safe. these tanks will will be very, very helpful for the ukrainians. >> i want to talk to you about that. let's talk more general about the assessment of the strike against the russian fuel depot that ukrainians are not confirming or defying it was them. but ukrainians carried this out using combat helicopters, how significant would that be? >> oh, it's very significant. again, the ukrainians have really turned the tide over the course of about a week. the russians are on their heels, flat footed, they are removing equipment not because it's their simple choice. it's because the ukrainians have set the conditions on the ground and are beating the russians back. so they're making tactical determinations that what they were doing doesn't make sense. this is wonderful for the ukrainians now to engage and get

across the border. and, look, this attack on this oil and fuel depot is not going to have a significant impact tonight on the fight taking place tonight. it will down the road because it atmospherely degrades the -- severely did he grades the russians ability. you push logistics forward. what the russians are doing is moving stuff back to rekit and refill and get ready for the next initiative if they have any. it's wonderful for the ukrainians to take the initiative and push the russians, keep pushing the russians and set the conditions. >> it impacts negatively on their ability to refuel. what about the psychological blow to russia. i mean this is 25 miles inside their borders. as fred pleitgen reported. it's -- it's a heavily defended area, isn't it? >> you have to imagine that it really is. i mean at the start of the war

fred fred pleitgen was in belgarad. you saw the rocket launching launching from sanctuary, i.e. in russia. nobody shooting at them. shooting mitchells in the direction of ukraine. you have to imagine it's highly protected. and fred indicated it's highly protected. and so from the ukrainians to conduct the operation, number one speaks to the professionalism of the ukrainians if they did. be deep planning, deep strike operations. you have to evade air defenses. you have to jam radaring, et cetera. there is a lot of planning in that. then you have to fly the aircraft at yap of earth following the folds of terrain. blackout conditions. they demonstrated professionalism and competence to for the russians to think they've been in sanctuary. that's broken. you're no longer safe. >> yeah, yeah.

president zelenskyy was on fox tonight talking about what happened. and he was asked about assassination attempts get are against him here it is. >> do you know how many assassination attempts you've survived? >> i don't know. >> but there have been some. >> there are things which is difficult for me to count. my intelligence says there were such attempts. and we saw information about some arrivals of planes. there were other details. but, listen, i'm alive. i'm not wounded. i'm intact. so it's hard for me to talk about this. so many people have died in our country. >> he is under no illusions that putin would like to take him out. do you think putin will ever give up on that? >> no, not at all. and isn't it remarkable the type of leadership that president zelenskyy is demonstrating.

unbelievable. when he was elected everybody thought about this comedian, this television star was coming in to be the president. thought what do we have in pron of us? you look at this. incredibly. inarguably he has become the george washington of ukraine. this is a remarkable man who has demonstrated measured indignation with some support. and this calm resolute approach toward this overarching monster of russia. and he has stood there, faced that down and shot them the bird in the vernacular. >> yeah. yeah. it sounds like the -- you know, the submarine guys. basically. >> exactly absolutely. god love people with that level of resilience and fort attitude and focus. and understanding the risks if they get it wrong. >> yeah. listen, it's amazing to watch to be here on the ground and actually watch in realtime how

people respond to him. especially we just happened to be in between shows. when his nightly address comes out. and everyone in the restaurant -- restaurant/bar wherever we are eating gets up, they're quiet with, turn the volume up and listen to him. and they are really really inspired by him. the p.r. campaign and the way he is conducting himself really is a effect on the morale not only on the soldiers but on the people as well. before i let you go i want to talk to you about the new disturbing video tonight showing bodies on the streets of buka, a village on the outskirts of kyiv that ukrainians have retaken. they may be retaking cities, what's left of them it's just -- they're destroyed, decimated. >> yeah, it's frankly -- it's illogical, the strategy that the russian have at least purported to have has been completely changed because of the conditions on the ground. and videos like this are incredibly difficult to absorb.

i mean, the human cost of this kind of a fight is very, very obvious. and so what you see with the russians is that they realize they cannot take on the ukrainian forces in a ground combat engagement because they are losing. and so the only success that they've been able to achieve is through terror tactics, the use of dumb weapon systems. and they attack civilian targets. this is not warfare. it's criminality. >> yeah. yeah, right on. general, thank you. be well. i'll talk to you soon. >> thank you, don. be safe. >> thank you very much. so for big picture look at what all this means for the overall conflict i want bring to fareed zachariah. fareed, appreciate you joining us. thank you so much. since i've spoken to you there's been so many twists and turns in this war. this fuel supply attack on belgorad, russia pulling back

forces multireports of low morale among russian troops, sabotaging their vehicles. putin is self-isolating possibly firing advisers. not a lot going russia's way. how do you see this? >> not a lot going russia's way, don. but that worries me. because what worries me is that the russian do not still seem serious about negotiating. zelenskyy, to his credit, has been incredibly brave. he has been incredibly courageous. he has embodied the fighting spirit of the ukrainians while at the same time constantly continually holding out the olive branch for peace. he talked about now he is willing to meet with putin. if you recall when he was on my program, he talked about how he would meet with putin, make painful kwon sessions. he has even outlet outlined the nature of some contestings. willing to be neutral, right?

the russians are not biting. they're not engaging seriously in negotiations. and what that makes me worry about is that facing in exactly what you describe, this fierce resistance, setbacks on their part. are they going to get more and more brutal? because one of the things you've been pointing out, don, this is -- this is going badly for the russians. but ukraine is slowly being destroyed. and i really worry about how much can the ukrainians take? they've been so brave. and i just wonder whether we need to start thinking about what is it that will get the russians to the negotiating table? as you know, i've always felt there needs to be greater pressure on them. we need to -- we need to sanction oil and natural gas. we need to give the ukrainians more so they can fight even harder because whatever we are doing right now, if the goal is to get the russians to the

negotiating table so far that is not happening. >> i'm glad you said that, because i've been thinking that as i've been here. and talking to people who have been fleeing the east, right? and coming further west. into lviv and even beyond across the border. yes, the -- the ukrainian troops are pushing the russian troops back. they're being -- they're stronger than people would have thought. they're more strategic than people would have naught. more cunning, they have the will and good morale and all that. but the cities are being decimated. people are losing their lives. losing their homes. families are being separated. so to what end, right? to what end? i think you are right what will bring russia to the negotiating table? because even with all of that it doesn't seem like they're going to stop. they use the crude weaponry, they use the missiles, even had a missile strike here in lviv last week.

so you're right. to what end, fareed? >> yeah, you know, don, we cannot allow ukraine to be destroyed to be saved. there has to be a better way. >> right. >> and. >> right. >> and one of the things i don't think a lot of people understand is that for russia this is almost a kind of colonial war. you know, this is not a great power thing between it and nato. ukraine for a lot of russians and for vladimir putin is basically a kind of colony of russia. and just as the french fought bitterly in algeria and the british fought in places like kenya, russia is the last great multiple national empire. and it -- we're living in a post imperial age but this is the last one. and they're desperately holding on to the possessions -- in their view possessions. >> fred. >> they can't stand the fact that ukrainian don't want to be colonial subjects they want to

be free. >> fareed, let me ask you this. how much of this then -- i mean, for me, for vladimir putin, this is all about puffery and pride. i feel -- and you can tell me if i'm wrong- that that he will destroy this country because it's smaller because he wants to be seen as big are and mightier, and that you know, he can do what whatever he wants to ukraine, that he will destroy this country in order just to save face? >> that is my fear as well, don. and -- and that's one of the reasons why i feel like we need to start thinking about what the potential end games are. who -- what kind of pressure you need to put on the russians, both military and non-military but also what is the kind of diplomatic pressuring with diplomatic off ramps. are there ways to get people like the chinese involved? or the turks or prime minister

bennett of israel has a plan. i say try all these things, not letting up the pressure. pu again, keep in mind, the goal cannot be that we have to destroy ukraine to save it, or we have to allow ukraine to get destroyed by the russians to save it. there has got to be a better way. >> yeah. >> because to see these images you are showing, it's heart breaking. and -- but it could go on. i mean, i think about what happened in chechnya in the 1990s. and the russians leveled that region. 250,000 civilians were killed. we do not want a replay of that. >> and i keep saying -- tonight 300 million more dollars. it's not about the money. you know america is a rich country. and i'm sure, you know, we can afford this in many ways. but how much longer do you keep giving weapons, keep giving money, you keep doing all the things to try to support the ukrainian people which we should

be doing, but then in the interim getting decimated in the process. are we pro longing the inevitable? do you understand what i'm saying? i'm not saying we shouldn't help of course we should about but are. >> the longer this drags on, the more towns, the more cities get destroyed. look you have to fight aggression. and you've got to give them the weapons to fight back. but as i say we have to keep searching for ways -- we need an end game. we need off ramps. we need to thinking about ways to get this to wind down. because let's face it there is the reality that maybe i think the united states will stay form. but will all of europe stay firm? will so much of the world stay firm? we need to think about this strategically and ask ourselves what is the best way to end the war in a way that preserves ukraine's independence? those are the two goal. >> right. >> and surely that is the task

for american diplomacy. end the war and preserve ukraine's independence. >> very good assessment. so president zelenskyy is saying -- he said just tonight that he wants peace. he is putting to what you were saying. he is putting forward a proposal. but it's got to include security guarantees with real muscle to prevent putin from attacking again the next time he wants a piece of ukraine here. how is that going to work? and if it involves weapons and troops how is that different than nato? >> it's a great point, don. and i think that's why it's going to be a tough -- it's going to be a tough ask on his part. if the united states were to give him a security guarantee, that's essential the same as as you say, as being a member of nato. i think there is probably ways in which you can provide security guarantees that do not trigger the article 5, you know a an attack on one is an attack

on all, that the united states would assist. you know, there are things tlik that even with taiwan most people don't realize, the united states is not committed to go to war in taiwan's defense. it is committed to help taiwan. so maybe there is a way to phrase it where you are making clear that the united states would provide assistance. and if it were not just the united states, if it were germany, you know, maybe many of the countries of europe, the crucial country is, can you get the russians to respect all this? you know, there was a budapest declaration or agreement that the russians signed in 1994, which is why ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons. they didn't abide by that. they didn't abide by it in 2014 when they took crimea. they are not abiding by it now. so, you know, the real question as always returns back to the russians, but i think you make a very good point. the nature of the security

guarantee to ukraine is not going to be an article 5, an attack on ukraine is the same as attack on america kind of commitment, which exists really only for nato countries. >> fareed, this is why i enjoy this conversation. this is not an inside the beltway conversation. s in a fareed and don sitting on a couch conversation which people are doing at home. so i really appreciate your answers and candor tonight. thank you for appearing. see you toon. i'll be watching in week. thank you fareed. >> stay safe. >> thank you very much. make sure you watch fareed zachariah. gps. 10:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m. >> her husband fights for ukraine and she reports on it every day. i got to sit down with a journalist here in lviv right at the forefront of the war. that is next.

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okay, so i've been bringing you the story of people since i've been here. and today i got to meet with someone who does what i do. she is a news anchor covering this war, except mariska is covering her own country being invaded. now she anchors on the ukraine -- one of ukraine's top networks. and has been on air doing her job since the invasion started. her husband a former politician is now fighting for ukraine. her children have been evacuated out of their country in an attempt to keep them safe. i should have been evacuated out of the city to the western part of the country. she got to see them today. now she is determined to do what she can to help her country. she calls it her mission from the anchor desk. here is our conversation. >> how are you? >> i never know what's the right answer to this question consider who is asking me about this. i mean if people from ukraine is

asking me how am i i would say i'm fine because i'm alive my kids are okay and husband is alive. but i mean if somebody from the outside is asking me, i say, i think the comprehension of what is going on will come later. because it still feels even to me so unreel. >> i'm sure you can feel the pulse of the nation. you could feel. what was it like. >> for me it was very emotional because i tried being a news anchor at the beginning of the start of the war for me, the man my husband was with the army. we understood that this war will be in every family in this way in one way or another way. and that morning we knew that some tv anchors were not able to be at the tv station because they had to take care of their kids. and to take them to safety. and actually that the biggest

discussion i think i had with my husband maybe months before invasion, because he was very -- he was vk responsible about this war. and he said, you have to make me a promise that on the day of the invasion or whenever it starts you just put your kids in the car and take them to safety. and i go to the army. and i said, what about my job? i have a mission to go to it to the tv station and i don't think it's less important than your mission to go to the army. so president volodymyr zelenskyy. >> as you're on the air then you knew your husband was going to have to go away. did he go away immediately. >> actually when i was done with my first broadcast on that day, i rushed back home, because he was already back from western ukraine where he took the kids. he had only 15 minutes to get back his backpack put on his uniform and be at the designated place. >> what was that like. >> for me it was heart breaking.

because i didn't know whether, you know to tell you the truth i didn't know whether i was going to see him again. because the guys go to the war. what can you expect? >> how did you decide who goes on the air when? because i notice when i'm here i'm flipping through channel after channel after channel it has a different name on the screen. >> yeah. >> but same. >> same picture. >> same people on. >> um-hum. >> now it's divided very proportionally. amongst all tv channels who process in this united states view. one day we have a night shift then morning shift then day shift. then we have the evening shift. and then we repeat. it's equally divided between channels. but we're also all the time in this reserve studio. so any time somebody cannot be on the air, cannot broadcast for whatever reason, they feel bad, i mean they are sick or whatever happens with the technical facilities, or they have to go

through the bomb shelter we fill in. >> there is a backup. >> yes. >> i notice it's just -- i think it's just one camera straight to camera, there is no different. >> yeah. >> it's not fancy. >> yes. >> there is no bells and whistles. >> it's wartime. >> is there any understanding for you as a media person that the russian people are being brainwashed, that they're not seeing free press, and that's why they're in part doing what they're doing? large part, really, because they're not getting the right information? >> you know what, i have -- i have a very personal story about this. because my husband was born and raised in russia. >> hmm. >> his parents are in russia. and they've been to ukraine many times. they've seen us. they've seen people. they know what's going on.

but still at this point they are brainwashed by russian news. and they think that we deserved it. >> you don't think you'll have a relationship with your inlaws? >> not very close relationships. we had some actually break after crimea was annexed >> a break. >> five-year break. >> you didn't talk to them. >> no. >> did he talk to them? >> sometimes because they are the parents, just talking -- just saying how the kids are. >> has he spoken to them. >> he asked his mom not to text him because he said it's hypocritical to be asking how he is showing some care for him when our children are being bombarded by rasussian missiles >> do they believe him. >> i don't think so because they never wrote back. >> that's tough. >> but, you know, having a job now unlike many people in

ukraine, that's what keeps me distracted of all my worries that i have. because that's the only time i don't think where my husband is or whether he is alive now or something happened. >> it's a nice distraction. >> yes. >> you said you have a mission. is that mission to inform people and not have them be like russians? >> this is the first mission that you said that inform people and not to be -- to be real news and not propaganda. but now i have special -- i see a special mission for myself. as i was the person who announce that the war has started. i have to announce that it has ended. so i'm waiting for this mission to happen. in my life. hopefully i will see that moment. this year. >> what will you say? >> i don't think that i will -- i will have words at that point. and maybe i'll start saying something about ukraine and will

be pushing my partner to pick me up and i'll be crying because i will think at that time i will have an excuse for tears. >> i hope she gets that moment very soon. there is a physical war and then there is the information war. we're going to look at how putin and the west are fighting for public opinion. stay with us. can help you build a complete financial plan. visisit letsmakeaplan.org to find your cfp® professional. ♪

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doug london is a retired cia operations officer and author. he joins us now. you say what we're seeing are global powers using intelligence as an instrument of power. tell me more, please. >> absolutely. if you turn the clock back to november, had russia invaded then, i'm not so certain that ukraine would be seeing the type of international support that it's received. poland and germany, they had been fairly problematic nato partners, i'm not sure if they would have adopted the position they have today. exposing putin's true designs, if you consider that eight years of training and support that the

ukrainians received, i have to think that's contributed significantly to their battlefield success against a k numerically superior source. >> give me your assessment of the intel. >> i think that's a fair assessment, putin is not really been reckless. he's a former kgb officer, he likes to have plans, and plan several steps ahead. i think it's fair to calculate that his own decision making was based on flawed intelligence. it's a system he's created, how many people are going to go tell him the bad news, to speak truth to power? the question i get often, would the u.s. be embellishing, making up this information?

legally, it's not allowed. i know there are skeptics, but they're not allowed to use it. >> how dangerous is that? >> i think it's dangerous when he's been making plans on the type of intelligence which would lead him to make serious mistakes. clearly, his judgment has been flawed. we see the blame game starting, and with the arrest of senior officers. so i think an insecure putin is obviously a dangerous putin. but i also think that his escalation has been tempered by the exposure of his plans, by keeping him on the defensive and keeping him reactive. i think we see some of that today in russian actions on the battlefield. >> and it's being said that

russian soldiers are low on morale, can that have an impact on the battlefield? >> we have to accept that a lot of what we're putting out is in fact getting to the russian community. and i understand, having heard your previous segment, that particularly the older generation of russians are rallying around putin. but i also believe information is getting through. they're going to face the tangible consequences of lost family members, as well as the economic consequences. i like to think that by keeping the pressure up, keeping our foot on the accelerator, it will continue to cause the type of internal pressure and the real consequences that will ideally make putin more willing to negotiate. >> you have a piece out on cnn.com where you talk about how biden's remarks this week that putin cannot remain in power take us further away from our

goals in russia. how so? >> the history of russian politics transcends contemporary times, as well as the days of the soviet union and before. the so-called strongmen who run that government, they're not necessarily friends of the united states. but they're certainly opportunists. there are those who have latched on to putin through their own self-interest. we don't want to put them in the limelight that taking any action would make them appear like american puppets. it sort of plays to putin's ability to rally the population for him. so there's a way to manipulate that, and there's a way to facilitate them, covertly, even. but i think we need to be careful and tactful, not to make it seem like those who would help us would be considered u.s. allies. that would likely undermine any

intention they have to take a stand against putin. >> doug, thank you so much. we appreciate you joining us this evening. >> thanks for having me on, don. the kremlin accusing ukraine of attacking a fuel depot inside of russia. is it accurate, or is it an exexcuse to escalate thehe war? stay with us.

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this is don lemon tonight, live in weestern ukraine, in th city of lviv. i have new video to show you, but it is graphic. it's from bucha, bodies lining the street. and president zelenskyy refusing